KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee dropped its series opener to No. 24/24 Alabama, 6-3, on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, ending its 12-game win streak to begin conference play.
The Crimson Tide (23-12, 8-5 SEC) were opportunistic at the plate, scoring six runs on 11 hits on the night en route to winning their eighth straight game.
Jorel Ortega and Jared Dickey both posted multi-hit efforts while five other Vols also recorded a hit on the night. However, the Big Orange left 10 runners on base in the game, including stranding the bases loaded in the second inning when Drew Gilbert hammered a ball that was caught on the warning in dead center field.
After starting pitcher Chase Burns was lifted in the third inning, lefty reliever Will Mabrey came on and was fantastic in four innings out of the pen, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters to keep the Vols within striking distance.
The Vols (31-3, 12-1 SEC) jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Gilbert tripled to left center to drive in the game’s first run and scored one batter later on an RBI single to center field by Trey Lipscomb.
Alabama answered by scoring in each of the next three innings, plating five unanswered runs, including three in the fourth, to take a 5-2 lead.
The first three runs for the Tide all came via solo home runs, two by Owen Diodati and one by Jim Jarvis. A Tennessee error allowed another run to score, and a sacrifice fly brought in the UA’s fifth run of the night.
UT ended the Alabama run in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer from Ortega into the porches in left field to cut the deficit to two, but that was as close as the Vols would get.
The Crimson Tide added another insurance run in the top of the ninth on an triple off the center-field wall by Drew Williamson to make it 6-3.
Tennessee will look to rebound tomorrow night in Game 2 of the weekend series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+ / ESPN app.
NOTABLE
MABREY STRONG AGAIN: Junior LHP Will Mabrey continued his impressive season with another strong relief outing on Friday night. The Cookeville, Tennessee, native, tossed four shutout innings against Alabama. He has allowed just one run and has not issued a single walk while striking out 13 batters in 12.1 innings during conference play.
ORTEGA BOMB: Redshirt sophomore Jorel Ortega hit his sixth home run of the season in Friday night’s series opener, a solo shot in the sixth inning. Ortega finished the night 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
-UT Athletics
